Hello again. Thank you so much for all the reviews/alerts/faves etc. They are very much appreciated. This whole thing is unbeta'd so it's great to get feedback. Here's another chapter, usual disclaimers apply. I need to warn you about some bad language and some nudity.


Chapter 9 - The Oppressor's Wrong, the Proud Man's Contumely

"Iruka. You have to put your arms around my neck. Now!"

Iruka glanced up. His eyes were glazed and he was so tired that he barely recognised Kakashi. The chuunin's movements were slow and sluggish. He was exhausted.

Kakashi grabbed Iruka by the waist and held him tight. He had to act quickly.

He glanced at Kemono again, needing constantly to assess the situation. Yes, the Iwa leader's eyes were already sparkling and he had raised his arms in the Konoha pair's direction. Kakashi knew that Iruka had already been severely weakened and the ANBU could feel his own energy starting to drain. Much as he wanted to, there was no realistic way of taking the brute on right now and protecting Iruka. Not with a bunch of nasty and zealous Iwa shinobi ready to fight them as well. If only Iruka had waited a couple more days, their chakra reserves would have been so much stronger. Still, the chuunin's safety was his top priority and Kakashi had just enough power inside him to do what he needed to do.

He teleported - vanishing instantly and whizzing both himself and his comrade outside the building and onto the street below. He landed on the hard concrete, staggering slightly as he broke his fall, but he managed to maintain his balance whilst shielding Iruka, who was clinging tightly to him. Kemono had already taken much needed chakra from his still depleted reserves and, even though it wasn't the ANBU's most graceful of teleportations, it had worked. His first concern was for that of his comrade.

"Are you okay, Iruka?"

The chuunin looked a little dazed. Kakashi wasn't sure if it was because his chakra had been drained again or because this was the first time he had ever teleported. It was a disorienting experience. Kakashi's eye arched into a gentle smile as the chuunin blinked twice then nodded, his wide brown eyes expressing gratitude for the ANBU's intervention.

Kakashi was improvising, but he was highly skilled at understanding situations quickly, evaluating possible options and following the best course of action. He always had good judgement - even in the most testing of times. The next stage of his impromptu rescue plan was to let the Iwa ninja know what he had done.

He yelled from the street below. Immediately the Iwa gang leapt through the broken skylight window and onto the roof. They were several stories high. They all craned their necks as they observed the Konoha shinobi at ground level, Iruka cradled in Kakashi's arms.

The ANBU had just enough chakra for one final teleportation. He wanted quite literally to disappear in front of their eyes. And he absolutely needed them to observe this. If he and Iruka had simply run off, the Iwa would have been able to pursue and neither Leaf shinobi would have had the chakra energy to take on a mob. Kakashi wanted to confuse his enemies. He pulled upon all his remaining strength and…

…the pair vanished in a puff of smoke, Kakashi listening to the fading howls of irritation and fury as they disappeared from view.

They re-emerged outside the Iwa town, close to the path that would get them back to their coastal hideout. The ANBU ran, carrying Iruka in his arms. As soon as Kakashi was confident that they were far enough away from the enemy, he stopped and laid the chuunin gently on the ground. Iruka looked up at him, his expression a combination of gratitude and frustration.

"Baka," Kakashi spoke softly. "Why didn't you ask for my help?"

Iruka pouted. "I needed to resolve things on my own."

"Didn't you realise there was no way they would trust you after I had come for you?"

"I had to try. I had them convinced for a while but eventually they realised I was bullshitting them."

"You're way too naïve," the ANBU replied, perhaps a little too bluntly.

This irritated Iruka. He started to raise his voice. "Don't you get it? My name is mud in Konoha. I had to do something."

"But they almost killed you," Kakashi noted, sounding entirely reasonable.

"So what? You didn't assassinate me, although you should have. I'm dead as far as Konoha is concerned anyway. What difference would it have made?"

"Well, I would care for one thing." Kakashi's voice was very even; he was determined to show no hint of emotion. His visible eye was locked onto the chuunin's crestfallen face. "I believe that you're innocent," he continued, "And I'm in just as much trouble as you are precisely because I didn't kill you."

"I didn't ask for your help," Iruka responded sullenly.

"I would have given it willingly."

"But you would just have been hell bent on getting revenge for what happened to Rin."

That was unfair. So unfair it hurt.

Kakashi scowled. Now he was pissed. Of course he had wanted to avenge Rin. He had desperately wanted to avenge Rin. He'd have ripped the Iwa gang limb from limb, burned them alive, castrated each and every one of them, if he had had the chance. But he hadn't taken any action against them precisely because he was so worried about Iruka and had resolved not to do anything until he knew that the chuunin was safe. Getting his comrade out was his top priority.

Iruka realised immediately that he'd gone too far. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "That wasn't fair."

He paused and sighed. Kakashi recognised immediately that the chuunin wasn't afraid to back off, was always willing to apologise, if he felt he was in the wrong. It was a trait that Kakashi appreciated. He nodded, a baleful look in his visible eye.

"Thank you for getting me out of there," Iruka whispered softly, looking downwards, his eyes directed at the ground.

"Un," Kakashi grunted in acknowledgment. He recognised that Iruka hadn't meant to hurt his feelings and had spoken out of turn in the heat of the moment. They sat on the ground, resting for a few moments, just observing each other, both unsure what to say. The ANBU noticed that the chuunin was avoiding his gaze and appeared to be feeling slightly uncomfortable, as though there was something he needed to talk about.

Iruka suddenly took a deep breath and confessed, "I kind of stole your ANBU mask, then broke it and lost it," he blurted out, glancing up sheepishly.

"It's okay," Kakashi replied, allowing himself a small grin underneath his facemask, successfully managing to stifle a snigger. He genuinely couldn't have cared less about the mask. His purpose had been to find and rescue his comrade and he had achieved that. And the chuunin looked so damned cute when he was feeling guilty.

Iruka bowed his head again. He had a frown upon his face which made the scar that ran across his nose wrinkle slightly. Kakashi thought it was adorable. The chuunin was feeling frustrated that he'd failed, elated that Kakashi had cared enough to come and find him, guilty that he'd taken his property and then briefly upset him in an outburst of feeling and, well, he was just plain exhausted.

"Iruka. Look at me." The younger man raised his face to meet the ANBU's eyes once more, his long, dark lashes framing his mournful eyes and his lips forming a straight line across his face, running parallel with his scar. Kakashi continued, "We both have to resolve this. We're both in trouble. Our best chance of defeating those ninja and retrieving the scroll is to conserve our chakra and devise a plan where we can work together. Yes, it will take time, but we need to be at full strength and we have to determine a good strategy."

Iruka frowned again and sighed. He felt his confidence waning. It was very clear to him that he was not nearly as skilled as his Leaf comrade and he wondered how he could possibly contribute. Kakashi continued, "If we act as a team we can recover the scroll, return to Konoha and clear our names. We have to work together."

The ANBU realised that the stubborn chuunin had acted with the very best of intentions – and admired his determination and tenacity - but right now their best hope to get back home was to team up. They would need patience as they allowed their chakra reserves to recover once more and they would need to devise a foolproof plan, but they could and they would work best together.

Iruka nodded. His grinned shyly, his expression changing from one of frustration to that of resolve. Kakashi was right.

"Okay." Kakashi's eye arched into a smile. "Now put this rucksack on your back, then climb onto my back. Put your arms around my neck and I'll take you back to the cave."


The journey back to the shore was a clear run and, despite Kakashi cautiously checking behind him at regular intervals, there was no indication that they were being followed. The ANBU's plan to confuse the Iwa ninja had worked. They did not know which direction to pursue and Kakashi had teleported far enough away from their village that they couldn't even send trackers to trace them. They would have had no idea where the Konoha pair were located. This secret place had worked for Team Minato during the war and was working for Kakashi now.

As they arrived back at the seashore, the weather was beginning to turn. Dark clouds were rolling in the sky from across the sea and the air felt humid and damp, as though there was a storm on the way. The atmosphere was heavy. Kakashi was pleased that they had reached the safety of the cave before the bad weather hit.

As soon as they had arrived, the very first thing Iruka did was to check the fresh wound on Kakashi's other shoulder blade. It had been pierced by a kunai delivered by Nezu and Iruka was desperately worried that the ANBU had received another dose of poison.

"Don't fuss, it feels okay," Kakashi said, stoic as ever.

"But I'm worried about it," Iruka insisted. "It looks red and it's been bleeding quite badly. I think I should apply some more of that poultice I made up."

"No, I'm sure it's fine. Please just dress it."

Iruka frowned and shook his head. He walked over to the area of the cave where he had stored the crushed leaf mixture but was surprised to find that there was none left. He was sure he'd made up a large batch.

"Did you finish off the poultice while I was gone?" he enquired gently of Kakashi.

"Er, yeah." The ANBU wasn't sure whether he should mention that although he had finished off the mixture he had actually not used it on himself but on a wandering stray puppy. Iruka seemed a little bit grumpy so he decided to keep quiet.

Iruka sighed. He was determined to dress Kakashi's wound properly. "I need to get up to the cliff top to fetch some more leaves then."

"No, don't. There's a storm coming. I'll be okay."

"No, Kakashi," Iruka insisted. "You've been injured and I don't want you to have to go through another night like you did when we first arrived here. You had some really crazy dreams."

Kakashi smiled wistfully to himself as he remembered the horrible feverish dream. "But I really am fine, Iruka. And you must be exhausted."

"It's no trouble. No trouble at all."

"Seriously, the weather is about to get awful. Please, let it be. I'm not sick. You're tired and you've just suffered another chakra drain. If the wound looks bad in the morning, you can help me deal with it then."

Iruka shook his head and held up his palms to assert his resolve. He had an air of authority that somehow reminded the ANBU of a teacher. "No Kakashi. I feel much better now – I had a chance to rest while you brought me back here. I don't care about the storm. I will go and fetch more plants."

It was Kakashi's turn to sigh. This chuunin was incredibly stubborn. Too bloody stubborn. Okay, if Iruka was exhausted but determined to collect medicinal plants in a raging storm, he wasn't going to argue with him any more.

Iruka stomped out of the cave purposefully. Kakashi had rescued him and taken another knife in the back for him. He wanted to help him. He needed to help him.

As he strode across the beach, past the waterfall and its freshwater pool and to the cliff path he could hear the distant rumble of thunder. The air was clammy and sultry and he could feel the impending storm approaching. His skin prickled with the humidity. He was feeling incredibly tired, but had had a chance to rest as Kakashi had carried him on his back for a couple of hours as they made their return to the cave.

As Iruka reached the very top of the cliff, a spike of lightning forked across the sky, illuminating - for just a fraction of a second - the surrounding area for miles around.

Mere seconds later, the rousing boom of thunder crashed around him.

Then it seemed as though the storm paused for a moment. He could hear insects chirruping incessantly, bats screeching, the local creatures anticipating what was to come. The humidity was rising to unbearable levels of stickiness, Iruka's skin was tingling and he was beginning to sweat.

Lightning, check.

Thunder, check.

And then the sky opened in a deluge of rain. A downpour of water cascading from the darkest, heaviest and blackest of clouds. The wind picked up and whipped around him flaying him, lashing and biting at his skin. His clothes were soaked within seconds.

The chuunin nearly turned back. But he was determined to help Kakashi. And he was incredibly persistent. He was soaked through already. He really couldn't get any wetter. So he persevered with his task and went to search for those medicinal plants. Fortunately he knew exactly where they were located, so he gathered them quickly and immediately returned to the cave.

The route back was treacherous. The path was slippery and Iruka almost lost his footing several times. As he arrived at the cavern, he noticed that Kakashi had lit a couple of candles. The ANBU was lying on the rocky ledge at the back of the cave, on top of his new bedroll, reading his Icha Icha Paradise book by candlelight, looking relaxed and cheerful.

Candles? Where the hell had he managed to get hold of candles?

"I can't start a fire in here, there isn't enough ventilation," he explained and his eye arched into a smile as he welcomed Iruka back to the cave.

The chuunin shivered. His clothes were saturated and he was beginning to feel really cold. His ponytail hung low at the nape of his neck, with loose hairs that had come free from their hair tie matted to his face and throat. He looked exhausted, utterly dishevelled and thoroughly miserable.

He reached for the rock that he had previously made his poultices on and stubbornly ground the saturated leaves together. He then stomped up to Kakashi, who shifted to allow him access to his back. Iruka turned the ANBU around to inspect the wound he had received earlier that day. Despite his frustration and irritation, the chuunin was still very gentle as he looked over the injury. It looked okay. It was red and a bit sore, but it had stopped bleeding and was already beginning to heal.

Iruka huffed quietly and applied the poultice anyway before dressing the wound. Kakashi smiled to himself. The way the chuunin cared about him and his injury was, well, lovely.

"Baka," the ANBU said softly, in an endearing tone, as he turned his head to acknowledge how much he appreciated Iruka caring for him.

The chuunin glared at him. He was about to flare up and could feel his temper rising. He huffed as he placed a clean dressing on the wound.

Kakashi grinned as he continued, "I told you I was okay. That kunai wasn't poisoned."

Iruka frowned. He had felt a great responsibility to Kakashi, such a responsibility that he hadn't really listened to the ANBU, he was so determined to help.

He was also freezing in his dripping clothes and was beginning to shiver. Kakashi observed him. He knew exactly what to suggest but was almost certain that the chuunin wouldn't like it.

"Take off your clothes, Iruka."

"Fuck off."

Kakashi exhaled quietly. That was pretty much the response he expected.

"I got you a new bedroll in town before I found out where you were in that office building. Should be more comfortable than these damn rocks, ne?"

Iruka remained silent.

Kakashi continued, "Look, you need to get out of those wet clothes. If you don't you'll get a fever. Bring your mat over here, take off your clothes and lie beside me. My body heat will keep you warm."

Iruka's heart sank. He felt angry with himself. Irritated that he hadn't listened to Kakashi and had gone out in the rain when he didn't really need to and was now horribly embarrassed that he was going to have to sleep beside him, naked at that, in order to keep warm.

Kakashi was amused. But he could tell that Iruka was uncomfortable so decided not to tease him any further.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll take my clothes off too. Then we'll lay my clothes on top of us and share them as a makeshift cover, and it will help keep us both warm. The last thing we need right now is for you to get sick."

Iruka exhaled slowly and loudly. He really didn't want to do this, but it wasn't because he was ashamed or embarrassed about lying naked next to Kakashi; he didn't really feel that that would be a problem at all - he knew survival skills as well as any Konoha shinobi and realised that it was the most practical thing to do. He was mortified because he felt that he had been an idiot and was grateful that Kakashi cared so much about him. That the ANBU had rescued him from death at the hands of the Iwa ninja for a second time, had brought him back to the cave, even bought him a brand new bedroll and was willing to help Iruka stay warm. They'd had loads of arguments that day and yet Kakashi had only teased him a little bit. He really liked the ANBU but he just felt awkward.

Kakashi would have been enjoying himself, he was finding the chuunin's response highly amusing, but he was sensitive enough to realise that Iruka was suddenly feeling terribly self-conscious, although he wasn't sure why.

"Okay" Iruka huffed. "But I don't want you to look. "

Iruka blew out the candles and the cave was plunged into darkness. Then he removed his soaking clothes, letting them fall with a plop into a sloppy pile on the cavern floor.

Kakashi had to suppress a laugh. Iruka hadn't had a problem swimming naked in the sea together a few days ago. Were things different between them now?

"This isn't really the time to be coy," he chuckled.

"Shut up." Iruka snapped.

Kakashi wanted to laugh so badly that it hurt his stomach muscles.

He also wanted to look.

Iruka didn't know that he could see perfectly in the dark with his sharingan. Since Iruka had hugged him that day on the beach, he was aware that he was becoming increasingly fascinated by the chuunin. He had been genuinely worried for his safety when he had bolted off back to the Iwa village.

He liked Iruka very much and found him to be very attractive. He was trying very hard to suppress the feelings he was beginning to develop towards his Konoha comrade.

Just one peek wouldn't hurt.

Would it?

No! That would be unfair.

Would it?

The storm raged outside, the wind howling and screeching, and both shinobi were grateful for the foliage at the entrance to the cave which helped prevent a freezing draught from swirling round the cavernous space.

Kakashi removed his clothes, shivering as he did so. The cave was really quite cold.

"Where are you?" the chuunin asked.

"Here. Follow the sound of my voice," came the reply. "I can hear you approaching me, I'm holding out my hands."

Their fingertips brushed as Iruka found where Kakashi was located. The ANBU gently grasped his wrist and guided the chuunin towards him.

"Shit, Iruka, you're freezing!" he exclaimed as hand made contact with hand. He opened his arms and pulled Iruka towards his pale, lithe body. The chuunin climbed onto the bedroll and snuggled up beside Kakashi. The ANBU carefully covered them both with his clothing then wrapped his arms around his comrade. Iruka shivered slightly as he fell into Kakashi's warm embrace.

He liked the feeling of the ANBU holding him. Kakashi's body was warm and welcoming. He held Iruka with a gentleness that the chuunin had really not expected. Iruka snuggled up so that he was closer to his comrade, his head resting on Kakashi's shoulder.

Moments later, Iruka was asleep. He had had a tough day and was exhausted. He trusted Kakashi completely, any awkward feelings from earlier that evening evaporated as he huddled close to his companion and let himself relax, savouring the warmth of the ANBU's body.

Kakashi lay awake as his mind mulled over the events of the day. Although he had wanted to defeat the Iwa shinobi and avenge Rin's death, the most important thing to him was that Iruka was alive. Sure, the chuunin had been naïve in going back alone but he had also proved to the ANBU just how loyal and dedicated he was. Kakashi admired those traits. He also found the chuunin to be incredibly funny. He loved his stubbornness, borne out of his natural empathy and compassion; it was endearing.

His thoughts turned to Rin. That fateful day, the day on which Obito had died, had shaped Kakashi's personality more than he could ever had imagined. Kakashi had initially been prepared potentially to sacrifice Rin's life in order to complete his assigned mission. How foolish had he been? Obito had taught him a valuable lesson: that his comrades were key to the success of any mission. Without them, there was no mission. It was a lesson that he could have learned from his own father if he hadn't been so ashamed of him for apparently disgracing himself. Kakashi would never be able to express his gratitude to his friend for showing him what life's priorities were really about. And for giving him Rin for a few more years.

As he lay beside Iruka sleeping soundly in his arms, Kakashi wondered what Rin would have made of the day's events. She would have been proud of him for rescuing Iruka. The ANBU had wanted to avenge her death, but it wasn't right to do so potentially at the cost of another's life and he knew that she would never have wanted that. He was aware that she probably wouldn't have wanted him to risk his own life to take revenge anyway. She knew all too well the hardships of shinobi life, that vengeance led to vengeance, which only led to hatred and further heartache for all involved. She had it in her power to forgive. Kakashi wasn't sure that he did. His best friend had been taken from him in the most hideous way. And, if nothing else, he needed to make sure the same fate didn't befall any other Konoha shinobi.

Rin would have understood his attraction to Iruka. Kakashi was certain that they would have got along well together. They both had a kindness and compassion that was a fundamental part of their personalities, a natural empathy with people and a positive attitude. Rin would have teased Kakashi good-naturedly about how handsome Iruka was, and would almost certainly have set him up on dates with the chuunin.

Kami, he missed her so much.

His thoughts then turned to the chuunin sleeping in his arms. He was relieved that he had found him in time to get him out of that Iwa town. The most important lesson that Obito's death had taught Kakashi was that it was his duty to defend his comrades. More than anything, he wanted to protect Iruka.

He waited until he could hear the soft sounds of Iruka's deep sleep; his breathing pattern was something that the ANBU had grown used to over the past few nights. He slept soundly, occasionally sighing as he exhaled, quiet, gentle breaths.

When he was certain that the chuunin was asleep Kakashi buried his face into the soft chestnut hair and inhaled deeply. The scent was amazing. He held Iruka closer to him, relishing the feel of skin against skin.

He trailed his hand along Iruka's back, his calloused fingertips brushing his soft, flawless skin, then let it come to rest on the back of his head before gently stroking his hair.

As the sounds of the storm outside whirled in a frenzy, the wind howling, the rain lashing, the thunder bellowing, the angry waves crashing onto the shore, Kakashi kissed the chuunin's forehead, a tender kiss that was filled with affection, before he too drifted off to a peaceful sleep.


A/N: I will try to update this story when I can, but my life has been a bit of a maelstrom for well over a year now and things have recently taken a turn for the worse again. I will have to spend the next few weeks/months visiting a hospital every day. I have no idea whether the next update will be in days, weeks or months. I'll do my damndest to update just as soon as I can, because I really love writing this, but I just don't know right now. I hope you'll bear with me. X-T